→ for which I have to howl.

[lupa]

Who: GG Giordano, Cliona Donovan
What: They're brought to Baedal together, a reunion somewhat marred by the fact that GG's sanity is apparently due to arrive a while after she does.
Where: An arrival room in the Valhalla Inn.
When: Coardi.
Notes: rrrrrr.
Warnings: Violence, blood, mentions of murder, nudity, probable foul language and discussion of torture. More TBA.

At least he's dead. Some people bring items to Baedal; GG, aside from a pile of dirty, sturdy clothes, brings a chunk of flesh in her teeth; the best part of a man's neck. So: she may be mad, she may be dead, may be captured, may have broken all of her own rules and done something terrible and horrible like she has always always wanted to and she may not regret it at all, but at least he's dead.

--is what GG will think later. Right now, she isn't thinking in words, but in smells and sights and feelings, flashes of instinct which cross paths in her mind and go straight to her paws.

This isn't where she was a moment ago. She took that bite and worried that flesh away, and then she couldn't hear him screaming, was tumbling, and landed- where?

Sight doesn't chime in as much as her other senses do, her hearing and her sense of smell, the fact that it's warmer here, wherever she is, wherever she's locked and whoever's taken her. She can smell people, so many of them, not all of them humans, in and out of this room all day long, their scents fading but distinct, cleaning supplies, she can smell fear and sweat and panic.

Somewhere in the backseat of her brain her rational thoughts are screaming Numen, Crisse, it must be Numen, how--

The wolf can't remember what Numen is, only that a) she is in danger and b) she is not alone.

The faerie smells like the earth after rain, with the scent of unwashed skin and hospitals and chemicals overlaid over that, an ugly mishmash of scents which she can almost see in streaks of orange and grey, sickly colours, on her tongue more than in her nose.

The same human rationale that knows what Numen is is screaming at the wolf, no no no no!

And the wolf, scared, whimpering, snarling, backed into a corner, does not listen- and springs.

Comments

[caoineadh]

"Thank you," The sooner she gets the other cuff off the better, if only because it means she might be able to get them out. The fact it would feel better comes as a second priority.

Clio stands and follows GG to inspect the CiD as well, "They look advanced," Compared to the cell phones of 2006, especially with the video function on the CiDs, "I don't think it's Numen tech." Another piece of evidence to confirm her not Numen theory.

She doesn't seem to even notice the fact GG's naked now. Any hang ups Clio had about nudity left her five months ago. There's no privacy in the facility; her own flimsy hospital style gown doesn't offer much in the way of coverage.

[lupa]

"It's not a phone, it's more like a- computer shaped like one." GG sounds non-plussed. She picks up a shirt, recognising it as her own, and tugs it on, tossing Clio her hoodie before she starts pulling on the rest of her clothes. They're well-worn and not particularly clean, but such is life after the apocalypse.

If she's noticed the blood around her lips and on her chin, even smeared on her teeth, then she's not doing anything about it.

"Some kind of forum or chat site, I don't know. Christ, this is-" She pauses. Insane? Her life is insane. Dryly and truthfully, she says, "This is still better than 2006. What's in the bag?"

[caoineadh]

Clio catches the hoodie with ease and pulls it on over the hospital gown; she's still probably not decent by outside world standards, but it's better than nothing. At least it's warm in the room.

"There are people on it?" She'd look herself, but she's picking up the bag and peeking inside and it's this after everything else that's happened that has her choking up with tears.

"It's mine," Hands shaking, she tips the locket out into her palm and opens it to make sure the picture's still in there. It is, "I thought they took this..."

Her tone is a mix between disbelief, awe and confusion. If this isn't a Numen facility, how did they get the necklace she was wearing the night she got taken?

[lupa]

"Yes," she says, rather quietly; yes, there are people on it. Out there. (Maybe). And they look- they don't look like they've experienced an apocalypse.

Someone's either very good at fucking with people's heads, or this is really happening. GG doesn't know which she wants to be real.

She glances up and sees the tears in Clio's eyes and the locket in her hand, and is shocked into not knowing what to say.

"...It's good to see you," she tries. It is. She feels like her sanity's peeling away, like this is probably some nightmare she's going to wake up from, finding herself in a reality ten times worse- but it's very good to see her. "Sorry I tried to bite you. I was...in the middle of something."

...clearly. 

"Look, I don't think this is Numen either- no one grabbed me or drugged me, I was just there and then here. We'll--"

She breaks off, picking up the Burnworth pamphlet and staring at it in disbelief. "...the hell...?"

[caoineadh]

"It's good to see you, too. And it's alright," Her smile is a little shakey at the edges, but genuine and understanding - sometimes friends accidentally try to bite friends. The locket gets returned into the bag and slipped into one of the hoodie's pockets. She blinks away the tears in her eyes; there'll be time for that later, hopefully.

With her hands free, she's struck with the urge to hug GG, but isn't sure how that would go down, considering GG might still feel a little bitey. Not to mention there are probably more important things than hugs right now, they need to figure out what's going on. (Though it's a relief to hear GG doesn't think it's Numen either).

Head tilted slightly, surprised by the sudden break in the sentence, Cliona grabs the other pamphlet and quickly flicks through it, skim reading, "This can't be true."

Can it? Maybe they've drugged her and everything here is a hallucination, including her friend's presence.

[lupa]

GG flicks through the pamphlet wordlessly, staring down at it with an inscrutable expression before she drops it and turns on her heel in a spin that's almost graceful, slamming her shoulder against the door, which is wooden and can't be more than a few inches thick, should splinter instantly and...doesn't. She gives a low growl of exertion and mild pain and rubs her shoulder, turning back to face Clio.

"It's warded," she says flatly. "Or made out of something I've never seen before. This-" She snatches up the pamphlet again and pronounces, with a snort, "-is propaganda bullshit. Reads like someone's trying to sell a used car. 'Congratulations are in order'- ostie." She shakes her head, running a hand through her tangled hair in a way that suggests she hasn't a clue how to react, looking suddenly tire. "Right. Ah...right. We need to get out first. Before anything."

Before what? She doesn't know. No thinking, just acting, she tells herself; no running in circles, just getting things done. But as she picks up her CiD she glances at Clio uncertainly.

"--You're okay, yeah? The bastards didn't-" Didn't what? Of course they did. They tortured her. GG knows what happens in those places. And she can see it, smell it, on Clio; she's thin, starved, and there's the faint scent of salt still. She shakes her head. "Come here."

She can seem stand-offish, but physical affection is actually something GG does well; she's very a physical, tactile person in general. And werewolves give the best hugs.

[caoineadh]

"GG--" She'd reached out a hand to try to stop GG - the door felt solid even to Clio's lack of supernatural strength - but she's too late to stop her and just winces sympathetically instead.

A nod, for the mention of wards and another for the propaganda, "If we can get the other cuff off, I can try going through."

GG gets a thin smile in response to the question, because of course they did and both women know that. Buy Clio doesn't hesitate at the come here; she all but throws herself into GG's arms, hugging as tight as she can.

"It was only superficial experiments," She answers the unfinished question. It's meant to be reassuring in it's own way - it was only superficial, they never cut her open to poke at her organs or brain and they didn't sterilize her, like they sometimes do.

[lupa]

GG wraps her up in her arms, conscious of how thin Clio is- though, she realises darkly, she's not faring much better. Since losing the link with the West End men, the estate has had to resort to raiding and stealing, scavenging what they can for food and other necessities. It's not a good way to live, or an easy way to live- especially not when you need the amount of energy GG does, and when hunger can cause you to just about lose your mind.

"What do you expect me to say- good?" she asks, voice very dry, not letting go of Clio.

Why do they live in a world where only superficial experiments are something to be pleased about? She nearly asks it, but decides against it; there are more important things to be getting on with. For one thing, they may not be in that world at all.

She hangs on for a few more seconds, though, before stepping back, lips pressed together, and giving a brief, terse nod, glancing back at the CiD in her hand and starting to scroll through more of the recent posts, looking at the cuff once more as they load. "Not sure I can break it without taking your wrist with it," she sighs.

[caoineadh]

"No," of course not, Clio might actually have scowled slightly if that had been GG's response, "But it means I'll be alright once I get this iron off and get some rest." At least physically, it might take her a little longer to get back on her feet emotionally, though she's coping for now.

The hug is too short, but Clio is aware she can't indulge in physical comfort right now, not when they're still stuck in this room, so she lets go.

"If only we'd gotten my clothes, there might've been a kilt pin we could've used," An attempt at humor, although it falls a little flat considering the situation. Clio picks up the other CiD and starts looking through the network, "Maybe we can call someone?"

The only problem is who. The people on the screen are strangers and Clio knows GG isn't inclined towards trusting those (neither is Clio, right now).

[lupa]

GG glances up and gives a wry grin nonetheless at the attempted joke, looking quickly back at her CiD. "Maybe. Or if other people have ended up like this, we can see how they dealt with it. According to the leaflet, this is normal. Not that I trust-"

She goes silent, and very still, and then mutters something in Italian which sounds both disbelieving and distinctly blasphemous.

Rather than say more, she holds the CiD up, showing Clio the screen and Lea's face.

[caoineadh]

"What--?" What's wrong is the question that never gets finished, because suddenly there's Lea and Clio just - stares for a few seconds that feel like an eternity before she forces her eyes off the screen to look at GG.

"Call her." No hesitation, no questions or concerns; none of them matter right now. Hows and whys can wait for later, as can the concerns about whether or not this is real. She doesn't even know for sure if they can make calls on this phone, but they have to try.

Her memories of that night are fuzzy at best, but seeing Lea dragged away is something she doesn't think she'll ever forget and the taunts from some of the scientists - she's going to be his bride - are fresh in her ears.